It is a generally accepted fact that young children adopt an item of bedding, a stuffed doll or animal or some other soft object as a symbol of the most secure place in their life, their crib. From that symbol they derive a sense of security that they can carry with them to more threatening environments. The most widely used symbol is generally the blanket or a piece cut from the blanket that the child used in earliest infancy. No commercial attempt has been made to meet this universal need until the advent of the present invention of a pillowcase and dolls graphically interconnected to fulfill a child's need for security. Numerous combinations of dolls and pillows have been created but not for the specific purpose of creating a security object system.
For instance, the U.S. Pat. No. Des. 305,711 on "Pocket With Pillow And Doll" issued to S. Wood on Jan. 30, 1990 illustrates a pillow incorporating a pocket containing a portion of a doll protruding therefrom but there is no graphic familial relationship between the doll and pillow.
A. Fogarty et al, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 269,575 on "Combined Pillow And Finger Puppets" issued Jul. 5, 1983 illustrates a pillow with a plurality of pockets, each of which contains a puppet but this also fails to relate the combination to a secure family setting.
M. Garner, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 301,728 on "Combined Dolls And Carrier" issued Jun. 20, 1989 is an exemplary doll carrier of interest but as in the case of all known doll carriers, there is no familial tie to an object found in a crib.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,889,512; 3,789,546; 1,768,334; and 1,651,738 are typical examples of pillows including pockets which contain dolls but they are completely devoid of any suggestion of a familial relationship between the doll and pillow.
The deficiencies of the prior art are solved by the present invention through a system which address the following objectives.